1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for accessing, manipulating and using funds associated with a lottery-type game. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods of accessing funds using a credit instrument in order to place a lottery-type wager and, optionally, the use of such funds for the purchase of goods, services or both at a wagering establishment.
2. State of the Art
Various conventional lottery-type games allow a player to select one or more groups of numbers to match with a group of numbers generated by a gaming administrator, which may include, for example, a gaming administrator, gaming authority or some other gaming operator. For example, gaming administrators offer lottery-type games, sometimes referred to as “Pick-3,” in which a player selects three numbers to match identically with a set of three numbers generated by the gaming administrator. Another example of a lottery-type game is POWERBALL®, offered by many states.
In conventional lottery-type games, typically the player is required not only to match the numbers, but also to match the order in which the numbers are generated. For instance, if a player were to select the number group “123” and the numbers generated in a drawing of the lottery-type game were “213”, the play would not be considered a winning outcome even though the player had correctly matched the three numbers because the order of the concatenated string of numbers was not matched. Generally, the size of the payout for a winning play is balanced with the quantity of numbers the player must match to produce a winning outcome. For example, if the gaming administrator offers a high payout, it generally requires the player to match 6 or 7 numbers. Thus, in a conventional lottery-type game, the odds of a player winning a jackpot prize other than a relatively small amount of money in a secondary prize are fairly rare, and the player may lose an incentive to keep playing. These high payout lottery-type games typically produce very few winners, often causing players to lose interest in the game.
A player typically purchases a lottery-type wager by going to an establishment that offers lottery-type gaming and purchasing the lottery-type wager from a teller or employee operated gaming terminal located at the establishment. Typically, to make a lottery-type wager, a cash purchase method is used where the player pays cash to purchase the lottery ticket. However, with the cash purchase method, there is no record of the identity of the player that actually purchased the lottery ticket. In essence, the lottery ticket is a bearer instrument.
Although the wagered funds and selected numbers are stored or tracked in a lottery-type game computer system operatively connected to the gaming terminal and a lottery-type game ticket is issued to the player who purchased the lottery-type game wager, no record of the identity of the player is established, which results in risks to the player holding the lottery ticket. For instance, if the lottery ticket is lost or accidentally destroyed, the bearer instrument nature of the ticket may result in the player losing the opportunity to cash the ticket. For instance, should the player lose their lottery-type game ticket that evidences the purchase of the lottery-type wager, the player loses their opportunity to collect their winnings, resulting in an unfair transaction. Other risks of the bearer instrument nature of the lottery ticket include the possibility of a dispute revolving around a player claiming, but not able to prove, to have purchased a winning ticket. Further, since the lottery ticket is in essence an anonymous bearer instrument, the gaming establishment is unable to offer any type of rewards program along with the lottery tickets. These drawbacks of conventional lottery tickets result in player dissatisfaction, unnecessary expense and inconvenience associated with administrative and/or legal hearings, and unwanted negative press for lottery administrators.
Thus, a need exists for a method and system for associating a player's lottery-type game wagering activities with the player while maintaining the anonymity of the player, a feature that is preferred by many patrons who seek confidentiality in their wagering transactions. Further, since few players win a substantial amount of money in lottery-type wages, a need exists for methods and systems of lottery-type wagering that provide players with a bonus or other incentive to make the lottery-type wagers.